petedk

The only good thing is they were lucky the explosion was not an hour or so later when the boats are packed solid. Also being near a pier people could be rescued from the water, a few weeks ago a guy who fell into the canal near where I live, people couldn't reach him and there is no life saving equipment along the khlong, though there is on the boats, police divers pulled his body out of the water about an hour later.

What do you mean there is no life saving equipment?

I see many of the piers have several plastic containers with rope attached!

Why the heck did the pick up suddenly stop in the outside lane?

A similar thing happened to me on the Bangkok-Pattaya highway once. I was lucky, but 3 or 4 cars ended up being smashed.

Yes, a crash helmet is essential. I saw a guy at a motor-cross fall and get hit by another bike. He had a huge chunk ripped out of his helmet, but he got up and walked away.

That was enough to convince me.

He was accused of possessing an expired visa in his passport.

Oh #$%^ I have several expired visas in my passport.

I have one that hasn't expired, but I guess this guy didn't have.

Yes, seems pretty bad injury from a fall, but on the the other hand, why would he be "mishandled" if the only crime was an expired visa?

Let's hope he recovers and can explain what happened.

Why shouldn't foreigners pay more, our salaries/pensions are way in excess in what a Thai person could ever hope to earn, you come to Thailand wether on holiday or to live here you abide by their rules if not go some where else. There admission prices are not excessive either compared to elsewhere.

Here we go again!

No, not all foreigners earn more than Thais. Many Thais earn a lot lot more than government school teachers.

No, we will not go elsewhere. We have families here.

We just stay away from national parks, but it is difficult when shops, shopping centers and motorcycle taxi drivers charge more "just because we are farang".

Do you think it is fair we pay 300,000 baht instead of 100,000 for an operation, just because we are farang. I did get the lower price after I told them I lived here.

Only today I was with a Thai friend. We took a motorcycle each. 20 baht for my friend. 40 baht for me. My friend didn't believe it. He asked why. The reply "farang price!"

More and more people are trying to charge farangs more.

The disease is spreading.

That sucks.

However, for me I rarely experience dual pricing. First of all, I speak fluent Thai and can read the language too. Secondly, I think this thread is more about fixed, government sanctioned dual pricing rather than entrepreneurial attempts to rip you off. If you had asked the price in advance and figured out the motorcycle taxi was trying to take you for a ride (not just literally) you had the option of asking a different driver who would have surely charged you the proper price. In my case, I don't allow dual pricing to get to me because before it does, I have already walked off to a different merchant/vendor/whatever or I don't enter the establishment in the first place.

At hospitals, this is a joke and unfair. Depends which hospitals you frequent, but if you have insurance it's usually no issue as you either don't have to pay, or you pay first then claim later so in the end, you won't be out of pocket.

As you say, it's easy enough to stay out of national parks or certain other tourist attractions.

I speak Thai too. I am sure you will experience dual pricing soon. I used to say the same as you, but now I have changed.

Actually I knew the price of the motorcycle taxi as I used to use them every day. They were nice enough guys and often joked with me.

One day a new guy came along and the price just doubled for me. I asked why (in Thai) and was told that it was the "farang price". No reasonable arguement... just "farang price."

I actually walk 50 metres or so to the next soi and take other motorcycles, but that day I just wanted to prove to my Thai friend that they did this. I think these guys now lose about 6-700 baht a week by trying to charge me double. I sometimes take long rides costing 60 to 80 baht too.

I usually get in most places at Thai price. I have been to the grand Palace for free several times. One time it took about 30 minutes of doing paperwork to get in.

I went on a tour to Ayuttaya with a group of Thai teachers from a government university. We went to a museum and the Thais paid 20 or 30 baht but we farangs had to pay 400 Baht each. There was absolutely no way they would let us in at the Thai price.

What an absolute waste of money (government money I may add). Nothing worked, the whole place was falling to bits. Even the 20 or 30 baht the Thais paid was a waste of money.

As for the hospital, yes the insurance paid but I still felt a duty to get the best price.

Sure I have walked out of shops when they ask for a higher price from me.

In a previous post they call for tighter immigration controls because most crimes against tourists were committed by immigrants!

This was in the news last week!

This 2 level pricing system is endemic of a greater problem hear in Thailand for foreigners . The Thais do not want you here Or should I say the Government does not want you here.

I am moving to Panama next year You ask why . I want to live in a area that appreciate people and are not xenophobic .

Can you imagine if Government run attractions in the USA charged more for Thais to go There would be a load holler and protest from the Thai government I am sure of it .

Why not charge All Asians $50.00 to go to the Grand Canyon but only Charge Americans $5.00 Good idea Right? Wrong

They would claim discrimination

Realenglish1, I'll take a big guess and say that you're English and not a Yank despite the USA theme of your post. You'll know that, in UK, if differential pricing were applied to Thais for UK attractions, there'd be a massive queue of British 'do-gooders' ready to take up arms on their behalf and get those increased prices abolished as discriminatory. Probably the same in USA. No protest from the Thai Government would be necessary, although I'm sure they'd make a complaint through diplomatic channels, unlike our western governments.

I don't imagine that any of us living in Thailand would expect, even in our wildest dreams, similar support from Thais over the question of differential pricing in Thailand.

I was discussing pretty much everything you just said with my wife about an hour ago. And not only this, but you can be sure that if a Thai was charged 10X admission to Disneyland in California (or any one of the national parks) , it would be on the front page of every garbage Thai media outlet and an 800 page thread on Pantip with Thais screaming about discrimination. There is simply not the culture of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" here in Thailand.

But what you said is true.... I would be absolutely ashamed if it was in my country and would do whatever I could to let it be known....many others would as well......

Last time I was in Chicago I visited the field museum - heavy discounts for locals.

Locals .... regardless of race or skin colour.

Fair enough many locals use museums etc. for study purposes

Why shouldn't foreigners pay more, our salaries/pensions are way in excess in what a Thai person could ever hope to earn, you come to Thailand wether on holiday or to live here you abide by their rules if not go some where else. There admission prices are not excessive either compared to elsewhere.

Here we go again!

No, not all foreigners earn more than Thais. Many Thais earn a lot lot more than government school teachers.

No, we will not go elsewhere. We have families here.

We just stay away from national parks, but it is difficult when shops, shopping centers and motorcycle taxi drivers charge more "just because we are farang".

Do you think it is fair we pay 300,000 baht instead of 100,000 for an operation, just because we are farang. I did get the lower price after I told them I lived here.

Only today I was with a Thai friend. We took a motorcycle each. 20 baht for my friend. 40 baht for me. My friend didn't believe it. He asked why. The reply "farang price!"

More and more people are trying to charge farangs more.

The disease is spreading.

Pathetic these lushes can't go a day without

Having to scramble around to find a place that

Sells Booz anytime; the bright side is, they usually

Drink themselves to death in a few years !!

What self-righteous drivel !

The real issue is not whether one can go without a drink or not. It's whether some sactimonious busy-body should have the right to tell you that you have to do so, regardless of your own wishes.

There are are too many people in this world that want to tell others how they should live their lives, even in matters as simple as whether they can have a cold beer or not.

DoctorB....

Have you been Butt Hurt by other peoples opinion concerning public alcohol consumption and drunkenness and or the "in country" rules and regulations pertaining to when and where you can publically drink your beloved alcohol.

It seems so.....at least by your post it seems so........lol

Cheers .......and hope you can go one day without having to drink in public places and having to suffer drinking at home or in private...for one day only...lol

No, you've got it wrong.

I typically have 1 small beer with my evening meal, and it's weeks since I've been bar hopping. As I said in my post, that's not the issue. I just loath self-righteous, meddling busy-bodies who take it upon themselves to criticise and restrict other peoples' choices.

I'm sure if I looked into your life style I would find things to criticise and carp about (eg your choice of extremely vulgar terminology on a public website). However, in general, I just don't choose to do so. Live and let live...I'll have a Leo with my Tom Yam and leave you to make crude references to anal sex for the world to read.

It's the government restricting "other people's choices"; not the posters on this thread

Some people are just saying that you gotta be pretty damn pathetic if the prospect of being unable to purchase alcohol on one day has you throwing a tantrum

I tend to agree

If someone is so completely unable to function without booze for one day, they can always stockpile it in advance. No laws against consumption, only against sale

It has nothing to do with not being able to function without booze.

I only drink alcohol some Fridays and some Saturdays, and then it is limited to 2 or 3 beers or glasses of wine with my dinner.

If I want to celebrate someone's birthday, wedding anniversary or whatever in a nice restaurant , then it can be irritating not to be able to buy alcohol at certain times of day or on certain dates.

Sure I know where to buy at so called "closed times", but I would like to enjoy a glass with nice food.

Oh, I can buy alcohol 24/7 , 365 days a year, just 30 metres from my local police station. (As can off duty police).

Alcohol can be 'served' or 'sold' between those hours.

What about wholesale?

Except for 7-11 and ilk, I have never seen these rules enforced in drinking establishments even in Bangkok, where I have sometimes bought takeaways from pubs in the banned hours.

"Wholesale has also been banned.

There is a total ban.

I watched it as well , didnt see anything about anyone dying , except one guy saying that his sister had been set on fire by muslims in Pakistan because she said the word God , by the way these people were Christian s from Pakistan where they are regularly killed by those peacfull muslims .

The feature will reveal the alarming conditions within the Immigration Detention Centre in Thailand, where hundreds of Pakistani Christians have been caged like animals, living in conditions so severe that they are detrimental to health and, in several cases have led to completely unnecessary deaths due to withheld medicine. The report also brings home the truth of the terrible and often under-reported phenomenon of persecution of Christians in Pakistan.

Taken from another website. Search Google and you will find it

Gambling in such an ingrained part of Thai society, I doubt it will ever be eradicated. Most police are not making much of an effort. And most of the time they profit from the local games. So, to even insinuate that this was about gambling, is disingenuous, at best. This was about another issue entirely. And as sad as this is to say, based on the additional raid in Chiang Mai, a few days later, it does appear to be the beginning of an anti-farang policy, on the part of the government. They are specifically targeting Western foreigners, at a time when tourism from the west is already on a decline. Either this represents a staggering degree of ignorance, and an enormous lack of judgment, or this is deliberate, in a growing attempt to discourage Western tourism, and ex-pats from settling here. I realize these are bold conclusions. And I truly hope I am wrong. It would be a real challenge to deal with an increasingly hostile government, as an ex-pat, and my guess is that many of us would choose to move on. Millions of Western tourists have already made that choice, and it is not just for economic reasons. There are a large, smelly pile of reasons they have decided to shun Thailand, and continue to decide on other destinations. A dozen reasons, at least. I could bore you by naming them, but you already know what they are.

What do you think? Is this possibly a new agenda? Am I misreading this? Hope so.

It doesn't look like a new agenda.

Apparently playing bridge in Phuket is perfectly OK.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Phuket-officials-confirm-troubled-waters-bridge-players/63260?desktopversion

Regarding police and criminal background checks along with reference checks, none are done. It's again, a face issue. If someone the school wanted to hire "failed" such a check, face would be lost. Luckily not many pedos and the rest end up with the children, but it does happen. I suppose that's true in other countries as well. I know at least one Thai school which allows foreigners to spank the students with their infamous hickory sticks. When you start filming it, it of course ceases. With today's phones and the facebook's of the world, such antics have declined. Once a "teacher" knows he/she will be on facebook spanking/swatting a child he/she gets scared. Payback is a bitch sometimes.

But they are needed to obtain an initial Non-B visa;

For those who are a teacher or trainer in a public or private institution in the country.

The document must include accompanying visas.

• A certificate of employment (In the form of the Department of Employment. Ministry of labour) Download Forms
• A copy of the employment contract (The start date of employment. The date of submission of the application for a visa. Or after the approved visa, etc.).
• Chartered Institute of Educational Institutions
• Proof of qualification
• Evidence of a criminal background check by the police.
• A copy of the work permit And tax returns of aliens (If you've ever worked in Thailand).
• Certificate of Education (the employer), the Royal Thai Embassy in Vientiane with a copy of the signed certificate.
• additional documents

7 and 8 ????

Ok. I have just seen the letter that I mentioned in the first post.

It says that ALL new employed teachers must pass an immigration check before they can be employed.

There are no details as to what they have to do.

It doesn't say anything about whether they have a non-immigrant B or not.

So now the admin is running around in circles trying to find out what to do.

Is the BBC banned in Thailand at the moment? It may be heading that way.

For once it isn't Jonathon Head reporting.

He is already involved in a defamation case.

I think the BBC should be ok if keep away from a certain topic.

I saw a preview last night on BBC News.

BBC reporter Chris Rodgers smuggled a hidden camera into an immigration detention center full of detainees.

The conditions were so bad that some people died. Very shocking report.

Thanks for the replies. I also found this one www.cleo888.com. Works very good it seems.

That's a great bouquet for Sports. Has all the Bein channels, which is unusual, as well as all the UK ones (Sky, BT, etc.).

Don't like the idea of giving a credit card to a bunch of strangers on the interweb though

I can't open that cleo888.com. I get a 403 Forbidden message

I brought in 7 large jars of Vegemite on my last flight here. OK, non-Australians don't consider that to be food. To us, it is a sacred breakfast ritual.

Maybe off-topic; however, I've always liked boerewors as a very tasty sausage. There's a bar in Chiang Rai that has Cumberland sausage on its breakfast menu.

No problem bringing that IN to Thailand, but it was a problem taking it OUT of USA.

The security classed Vegemite and peanut butter as a liquid and wouldn't allow it (as hand luggage). It was ok in the suitcase but that had already been sent through.

My Thai friends (business owners) recently decided to visit Mimosa shopping "mall" in Pattaya and asked if I would like to join them. We pulled up in a 5 million baht BMW and parked right next to the entrance gate. My friends were ushered through but I was stopped. I asked why.

Thais free, farang 300 Baht. We are discussed for a few minutes and eventually I got in using my DL. I am glad I didn't have to pay. What a complete waste of money and time.

By the way, I later saw on Internet it was 100 (or 150 baht for foreigners). Why on earth they asked for 300 I don't know.

Didn't a single one of your oh-so-important friends do what I'd expect of anybody I called a friend and kick-up a stink on your behalf?

Didn't they say anything like "If my mate isn't good enough to come in & spend his money with us, without being charged an extra fee, then we're all leaving right now"?

Did they all just march in before you & leave you to discuss the matter alone?

If they didn't, they're not real friends and think so little of you (just a foreigner) that they think you should pay extra.

As the saying goes "With friends like that, who needs enemies".

But maybe you just omitted to mention that they were in your corner over this.

I never said they were oh-so-important. There is no need for them to kick up a stink. A simple phone call would help as it has done several times in the past in other situations.

They didn't help me this time because at first I said to them I would wait outside and have a cold drink. After the drink I decided to have a go myself.

I can understand people noticing dual pricing. What I can't understand is why they get their knickers in such a twist about it.

If you go to just about any golf club in the world, the price for visitors is always more than for members. That's because members pay annual subscriptions.

So if you are a falang in Thailand, how much tax have you paid compared to a Thai national?

When it comes to the crunch, if you think the green fees for a visitor at a golf club are too steep or poor value, you walk away.

It baffles me why the pissers and moaners on TV can't grasp the same principle applies to dual pricing in Thailand.

It's also somewhat pathetic when it's 100 baht versus 200 baht - if that signals impending bankruptcy, you shouldn't be here.

Rant over.

I have paid a lot of tax in Thailand in the years I have lived here.

You are right...100 baht won't make me bankrupt BUT if everyone charges double (some places 10 times the Thai price) as much for their products and services, then it will begin to hurt.

As I mentioned in another post more and more Thais are beginning to jump on the bandwagon and charge farangs more. Yes, we can walk out of the shop, refuse to go into the park, refuse a taxi ride, choose a different hospital, buy a different house and so on. YesI even had a house price jump nearly 80% when they found out I was farang.

It shouldn't be like that just because of the colour of our skin.!

Most foreign countries have dual pricing.

It's only fair as most citizens here have much less than most tourists and retirees.

If it annoys you go home and pay much higher prices and be invisible to most women.

so when youre in a queue in a 15 year old car and everyone around you is in new mercs and camrys its right that the white guy pays more than the rich thais?

another thai ashlicker.

My Thai friends (business owners) recently decided to visit Mimosa shopping "mall" in Pattaya and asked if I would like to join them. We pulled up in a 5 million baht BMW and parked right next to the entrance gate. My friends were ushered through but I was stopped. I asked why.

Thais free, farang 300 Baht. We are discussed for a few minutes and eventually I got in using my DL. I am glad I didn't have to pay. What a complete waste of money and time.

By the way, I later saw on Internet it was 100 (or 150 baht for foreigners). Why on earth they asked for 300 I don't know.

Most foreign countries have dual pricing.

It's only fair as most citizens here have much less than most tourists and retirees.

If it annoys you go home and pay much higher prices and be invisible to most women.

Many English teachers at government schools get the basic 28K.

I know several Thais who earn 10 times that.

I know a student who graduated 6 months ago. Her salary is already higher than her experienced teacher's.

"Go home" ? Thailand is my home and has been for about 20 years.

I have nothing against being invisible for women. Why do you think all ex-pats are sex-pats?

Many other Asians get in at the Thai price. This dual pricing is based on skin colour and pure greed and nothing else.

locals getting discount happens everywhere even Disneyworld, St, Andrews Golf cub, even when I went to the Royal melbourne Golf club the locals got a massive discount.

Unless or until they start doing it on race alone your argument falls flat.

When I, a whitey get my citizenship, I guarantee you they will let me in for the local price.

What a stupid thing to say.

A "local" at Disneyland or a golf club means "someone who lives there".

In Thailand a "local" means someone who doesn't have white skin.

I know Thais who have lived in USA 50 years and only come here for holiday once a year, getting Thai discounts on BTS (senior ticket) and many other attractions. I have lived and worked here for 20 years am often refused these discounts.

I have been using the motorcycle taxis at the top of my soi for 10 years. They treat me well, joke with me and often pick me up for free. I in turn buy them snacks or drinks sometimes. Recently a new guy joined them. He tried to charge me double and I refused.

The day after one of the regulars tried the same. Now they all do the same and simply say "Farang have money".

Now I walk another 50 metres and take other motor cycles.

I prefer brewed or drip coffee and only drink it black.

My friend went to Chumphon and bought some local 3 in 1 coffee back. It wasn't too bad. Not sweet and sickly like most 3 in 1s.

I haven't seen that brand in Bangkok though.

Perhaps they are referring to the Police "clearance" certificate which will be needed to obtain a "B" visa and work permit ?

Could be, but he been teaching in Thailand since about 1999 and has a Police "clearance" from 2000.

I asked the Head of Department today and she said it was a new requirement, but she doesn't know the details.

Buy a G700 tactical flashlight which has a strobe and use it to blind the intruder and a baseball bat to take knee caps out and disarm, then call the police.

The police might be a long wait so make sure there is plenty of beer in the fridge.

Who is the beer for?

The intruder? The cops or yourself?

I like the idea of dogs that allow the intruder to enter the premises, but won't allow them to leave. My friend had a rottweiler that did that and it actually worked once. After that , he was told to put a big sign "Beware the dog" on the gate.